NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Brainerd, MN
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Brainerd, Minnesota since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 47 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 47
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
1 deaths in all
What the records show for Brainerd
The strongest of the 47 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on June 11, 1966; its path came within 21 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on September 18, 1997, killed 1 person. Of the 47, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 16 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 16. The most recent tornado was on June 16, 2025. Of the 341 Minnesota cities on this site, 82% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Brainerd. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 94 times since 1971, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Brainerd has more hail reports within 10 miles than 56% of the 341 Minnesota cities.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Brainerd
By decade
- 2020s11
- 2010s3
- 2000s2
- 1990s8(2 EF3+)
- 1980s4
- 1970s12(2 EF3+)
- 1960s6(1 EF3+)
- 1950s1
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 11, 1966 | F4 | 21 mi | 72.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Sep 18, 1997 | F3 | 20 mi | 17 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Jul 5, 1991 | F3 | 7 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Aug 26, 1977 | F3 | 7 mi | 26.3 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Jun 25, 1973 | F3 | 7 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 12, 2024 | EF2 | 16 mi | 14.66 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 12, 2024 | EF2 | 21 mi | 3.16 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 19, 2016 | EF2 | 13 mi | 3.52 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 2001 | F2 | 1 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 13, 2001 | F2 | 23 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 26, 1996 | F2 | 21 mi | 0.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 3, 1985 | F2 | 16 mi | 33 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 47, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Brainerd
The Storm Prediction Center has 94 hail reports within 10 miles of Brainerd since 1971, made on 49 separate days. Of these, 68 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on June 23, 2022. The most recent report is from September 12, 2025. June has the most reports, 35.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Brainerd
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Brainerd, MN, 2 miles west of Brainerd at 1,180 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 80°F and low of 58°F; January is the coolest, at 20°F and -2°F. June is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and January and February the driest at 0.8 inches; the year adds up to 30.6 inches over 61 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 5 days a year, almost all from July to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 185 nights a year. Snowfall averages 48.2 inches a year, most of it in January and December. That 30.6 inches is more than at 60 of the 124 Minnesota stations used on this site (48%). Nisswa, 12 miles northwest, has its own station (Gull Lake Dam, MN): 27.0 inches a year, 3.6 less than here, and a July average high of 79°F against 80°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 20 | -2 | 0.8 | 3 | 10.0 |
| Feb | 25 | 1 | 0.8 | 2 | 8.3 |
| Mar | 38 | 15 | 1.5 | 4 | 9.2 |
| Apr | 53 | 29 | 2.5 | 6 | 4.3 |
| May | 67 | 43 | 3.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 76 | 53 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 80 | 58 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 78 | 55 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 70 | 46 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 55 | 34 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.7 |
| Nov | 38 | 21 | 1.5 | 4 | 5.7 |
| Dec | 25 | 7 | 1.0 | 3 | 10.0 |
| Year | 52 | 30 | 30.6 | 61 | 48.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Brainerd, MN (1,180 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Brainerd
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 122 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Brainerd: 110 thunderstorm wind reports, 5 flash floods, 5 floods and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $2.0 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on June 28, 1997. July has had the most flash floods, 4 of 5. Of the 312 Minnesota cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 132 have had fewer than Brainerd.
June 30, 2018: lightning strike 7 miles from the centre of Brainerd — 1 injured.
September 25, 1998: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Brainerd — $1.0 million damage.
June 19, 2012: flood 8 miles from the centre of Brainerd — $634,000 damage.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Crow Wing County, which includes Brainerd, has been named in 13 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 floods, 3 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 drought). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on August 9, 2022. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Crow Wing County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for tornadoes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $39.5 million a year, the 13th highest of 87 Minnesota counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $25.6 million (65%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Brainerd
- Baxter, MN5 mi
- Nisswa, MN12 mi
- Merrifield, MN12 mi
- Deerwood, MN14 mi
- Crosby, MN15 mi
- Pillager, MN15 mi
- Pequot Lakes, MN18 mi
- Crosslake, MN22 mi
- Motley, MN23 mi
- Pierz, MN25 mi
- Aitkin, MN26 mi
- Little Falls, MN27 mi
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